A true Pokemon trainer strives for a complete Pokedex, and some of the hardest Pokemon to track down are the legendaries. To help you fill those pesky gaps in your PC, we present the fastest, easiest ways to obtain every single legendary in the National Dex. The entries are arranged alphabetically, and within each entry the methods for obtaining the legendary are arranged from easiest to hardest.

Some things to keep in mind while using this guide as a reference:

We’ve only included ways to obtain each Pokemon that are transferrable to the current generation of Pokemon games (Diamond, Pearl and Platinum). This includes Pokemon that are obtainable in these three games, as well as through any of the GBA Pokemon games (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald). Information pertaining only to Generations I and II (Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal) has been omitted due to its incompatibility with the current generation. It’s great that you still have that Mew on your Pokemon Blue cartridge that you got when your mom took you to the Toys R Us event in 1999, but nobody is playing Red and Blue anymore.

Some general rules for catching in-game legendaries for anyone who doesn’t know what’s up already:

-Always save before an encounter with a legendary in case you accidentally KO it.
-Never save after you’ve accidentally KOed a legendary. Once you KO a legendary, unless you reset without saving, it will not be available again without starting a new game from scratch.
-Status effects are generally good for making Pokemon easier to catch, but never use Poison or Burn on a legendary, because you’ll end up KOing it before you’re able to catch it.
-Having a Pokemon that knows the False Swipe move is always a good idea to avoid accidentally KOing the legendary (False Swipe guarantees your opponent will always have at least 1 HP remaining when you use it).
-Any Pokemon obtained in any GBA version can be transferred to Diamond, Pearl or Platinum via PalPark (if you’re unfamiliar with the PalPark process, it’s explained here in detail) after beating the Elite 4 and obtaining the National Dex.

Also, keep in mind that all of these Pokemon are also obtainable via the GTS (Global Trade Station) in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, as well as through trading with your friends. The information in this guide should help you make informed trades, so you don’t get scammed by some jerkhole trying to trade hacked mutant level 1 Mews. Be careful out there, trainers!

Page 1 – Arceus | Articuno | Azelf | Celebi | Cresselia
Page 2 – Darkrai | Deoxys | Dialga | Entei | Giratina
Page 3 – Groudon | Heatran | Ho-Oh | Jirachi | Kyogre
Page 4 – Latias | Latios | Lugia | Manaphy | Mesprit
Page 5 – Mew | Mewtwo | Moltres | Palkia | Phione
Page 6 – Raikou | Rayquaza | Regice | Regigigas | Regirock
Page 7 – Registeel | Shaymin | Suicune | Uxie | Zapdos 

At the time of writing, Arceus isn’t available outside of hacking, and there’s no room in our PCs for hacked Pokemon. Expect an update when Arceus’s event is announced.

Pokemon Diamond / Pearl / Platinum – Event only, TBA

One of the three legendary birds from Generation I, Articuno is the Ice/Flying type third of the trio.

Obtainable via: 

Pokemon Platinum - Once you get the National Dex, the three Legendary Birds (Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos) will be roaming Sinnoh in the same way that Cresselia and Mesprit jumped around from place to place. Use your Marking Map Poketch app to see their current locations and track them down. Once the encounter begins, use a Pokemon with the Mean Look move to prevent each bird from fleeing (or better yet, use a Wobbuffet – its Shadow Tag ability will automatically prevent the bird from fleeing, even if you switch it out) and you should have all three in no time.

Pokemon FireRed / Leaf Green – You’ll find Articuno on Seafoam Islands. To get there, head south from Fuchsia City, and when you get to the ocean, use Surf to continue heading south until you reach Seafoam Islands. A level 50 Articuno is inside the cavern (make sure you also have a Pokemon who knows Strength in your party since you’ll need to move a few boulders to get to Articuno). 

Pokemon XD – Articuno can be caught during the boss battle against Grand Master Greevil on Citadark Island. This is a pretty tough boss battle and it’s fairly difficult to catch the legendary birds this way. Since the bird trio is now available on Platinum, there’s really no reason to go back to XD, unless, of course, you really want to.

Trivia: Articuno is the first legendary Pokemon in the National Dex.

Azelf is part of the Psychic legendary trio that debuted in Pokemon Diamond / Pearl. Each one guards one of Sinnoh’s three lakes.

Obtainable via:

Pokemon Diamond / Pearl / Platinum – Once you’ve beaten Team Galactic at Mt. Coronet, the lake trio of legendaries (Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie) will become available. You’ll find Azelf at Lake Valor.

Trivia: Azelf (along with Mesprit and Uxie) has a cameo in Super Smash Bros Brawl in the Spear Pillar stage.

Above: Trying to get a legit Celebi off the GTS is always a gamble

An adorable Psychic/Grass type Pokemon, Celebi is noted for being one of the most difficult Pokemon to obtain legitimately.

Obtainable via:

Celebi is an event-only Pokemon, so there’s no way to obtain one via normal gameplay. Most of Celebi’s giveaway events were Japan-only, so look for a Japanese OT when trading. Celebi was also given away during the Pokemon Journey Across America Tour with an OT of 10 ANIV. If you’re looking for a legit Celebi, your best bet is to seek out a reputable source for trading, like someone you know.

Trivia: Celebi is weak against a whopping seven different Pokemon Types (Bug, Dark, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Ice and Poison), making it the legendary with the most weaknesses.

Yet another Psychic-type legendary introduced in Diamond / Pearl, Lunar Pokemon Cresselia is the yin to Darkrai’s yang.

Obtainable via:

Pokemon Diamond / Pearl / Platinum – After beating the Elite 4 and obtaining the National Dex, head to Canalave City. On the west side of the city by the boat dock is a house with a sleeping boy in it. Talk to the boy, then take the boat across to Fullmoon. Follow the path (there’s only one way you can go) until you reach Cresselia, who will immediately flee when you approach. Make sure to grab the Lunar Wing she leaves behind, and bring it back to the sleeping boy to cure him. Now you’ll be able to find Cresselia roaming around Sinnoh (use the Marking Map Pokeketch app to view her current location).

Cresselia is probably the most difficult Pokemon to catch in Diamond / Pearl / Platinum, so you’ll have to employ some special techniques if you want to snag her without a major headache. You can take as much time as you’d like before you actually go after her (she’ll keep roaming around Sinnoh indefinitely until then), so take your time and make sure you’re well prepared.

-Using Fly to get closer to Cresselia usually doesn’t work. You’ll have to walk/bike there and hope he doesn’t move again while you’re en route.
-If that’s not working for you, find a boundary between two areas and move back and forth between them until Cresselia shows up in the area you’re in.
-If your lead Pokemon is lower than level 50, use a repel before entering the grass to ensure that you encounter Cresselia instead of a random wild Pokemon.
-Have a Pokemon with the Mean Look move at the head of your party (Crobat is a good candidate because of his high speed stat) and use it right away to prevent Cresselia from fleeing.
-Better yet, have a Wobbuffet at the head of your party. Its Shadow Tag ability will prevent Cresselia from fleeing even if Wobbuffet switches out.
-Cresselia’s HP doesn’t regenerate between encounters, so if you’ve gotten her health down and she flees, her health will still be down next time you encounter her. Be careful not to inflict poison because you don’t want to accidentally KO her.

If all else fails, Cresselia is an excellent candidate for using your Master Ball.